Full fashioned hosiery



Oct. 3, 1939. J. M. BoTTs FULL FASHIONED HQSIERY Filed July-15, 19:56

Fig.' I

INVETOR ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT 4OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to full-fashioned hosiery of the type in which the top section, that is, the section corresponding to the doubled overweltof an ordinary full-fashioned stocking consists 5 of a single layer of fabric, and coordinately therewith it relates to a method of making such hosiery.

While my invention has vbeen disclosed in connection with `full-fashioned hosiery, it is to be understood that as to certain phases thereof it ,n may have Vother/ applications. A In the manufacture of full-fashioned hosiery of the' type whichicrms the subject of this inventign, i whichgthetop'prtin consists of a Yls/single layer 'offabri it is customary to form a complete stocking blank without removing the blank from the machine. 4'I'hat is Y to say, once the initial loops are formed on a nee'dle bar, corresponding to the welt bar used in the forma tion of ordinary full-fashionedhosiery, the blank isfnotxemovedsfrom the machine until the knit- A w'lting thereof is completed.

As a result "of this method of knitting, in which only a single machine is used, the variety of patterns or designs in the different sections of the stocking is of necessity limited because a knitting machine of the ordinary type has only a limited capacity forv pattern adjustment, and

where it is desired to have a. great variety of patterns in a single stocking blank, a resetting of the pattern adjustment is necessary during the course of knitting the blank. Since this resetting is an expensive operation, necessitating ythe stoppage of the machine, a great Avariety in the patterning of stockings manufactured in the customary manner is excluded. "d

It is amongA the vgeneral objects of my invention to provide for a greater variety of pattern in a-full-fashioned stocking by knitting a por- 40 tion of a full-fashionedv stocking blank separately from the other-portions of the blank, in

machines'particularly adapted to knit only this portion, and finishing. the blank in a different machine or machines. f

It is further among the objects of my inven tion to provide for continuous quantity production of such separately knitted sections, thereby greatly reducing the cost thereof.

It is also an object of my invention to pro- 50 vide a method of manufacturing full-fashionedV hosiery whereby a portion thereof is rst manufactured in quantity, after which it may be stored for future use, as desired, and thereafter khave the other portions of a. stocking added 5g thereto. It is also an object. in connection with (Cl. (i6-172) the method just described, to provide for associating with a portion of a stocking having' a particular pattern or design, other portions that may be different in pattern from .each other and from said nrst mentioned portion.

For the attainment of these objects and such vother objects, as will hereinafter appear or be pointed -out, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention andA one manner of practicing the same in the drawing; in which: f T" 10 Figure 1 is a plan view of a fabric strip knitted according to my inventionrsaid strip being composed of' a plurality of repeat sections;

Figure 2 shows one of the repeats of the fabric strip of Figure 1 separated therefrom and 15 ready for insertion into a flat bed knitting machine;

Figure 3 is intended to indicate the manufacture of a stocking blank after the blank section of Figurek 2. has been inserte'd into a flat bed 20 knitting machine; and

AFigure 4 is intended to illustrate a finished stocking? however before 'the' raver-effractionhas been removed. k

My invention will rst be described in broad 25 outline. In the practice thereof as hereinafter described in detail, I first knit on a flat-bed knitting machine a -strip of fabric involving a repetition of a. section of a full-fashioned stocking, and each such repetition or repeat is 30 readily separable from the strip and further is so made that it maybe placed into another fiat-bed knitting machine in which it may -have knitted portions 'added thereto.

TheV advantagesfofgthis procedure reside in the 35 Vfact that the repeat strip may be produced in quantities, and therefore cheaply, even though it involves the production of a complicated knitted pattern, because each repeat is of relatively small area and therefore requires only a o relatively small machine, which need not be undulycomplex to provide the adjustmentsv needed to produce the pattern of. each repeat, even though it be of a design, ordinarily considered diillcult to produce. This machine would 45 requireA adjustment only before the commencement of production and thereafter the repeat strips may be continuously produced, without 'further adjustment. After completion of .the

strip it may be stored in strip form, to be made up into stockings as desired.

The practical' advantagesV of my invention may now be pointed gout. 'Suppose a department store wishes to have its name embroidered into stockingsksold by them. To have this done u by the ordinary processes of manufacturing hosiery would beA impractical because the cost would be prohibitive even if a large quantity were ordered. To order a large quantity, beyond immediate requirements would involve the in-` vestment land the tieing up of a considerable amount of capital. However the department store might order a large quantity of repeat.

strips made in accordance with my invention,- at relatively low cost and lcapital outlay and store thesefor use as needed. In accordance with the demand a portion of these strips may` be used in making up completed stockings for .immediate sale, the department store for thattion that is to be removed and constitutes waste, .and for thatreasonv is preferably knitted of the most inexpensive material suitable for the purpose. This ravel-ofl section is followed bya section I2 which is to constitute the top part (or the part corresponding to the welt section of an ordinary stocking) of a stocking made according to" my invention, and which is therefore knitted with finish thread. Succeeding portions of the strip are constituted byw'arepetitionoptheasections united. The transfer loops I6 may then be placed onl a transfer bar I8 asi shown in Figure 2, and the fabric portion consisting of sections I0 and I2 introduced into a knittingvmachine, as indicated in Figure 3, in which a hook bar 20 has been shown as used to apply tension to the section I0, by means of an arrangement involving the takeup roller 22, carried by the machine, over which passes a strap 2|, connected by tension equalizing springs 26 to asecond strap 28 attached to the `hook bar 20. A section I1 of knitted fabric has been shown as forming a continuation of the strip I2, the knitting of this section I1 having been commenced at the transfer loops I8. Thereafter the ravel oii' section I0 drops off and the stocking` has assumed its final form.

' It is unnecessary to go into further details relating to these latter steps of manufacture, as they have been fullydescribedein my Patent No. 1,833,705', November 24, 1931.

While I have described the ravel-of section III just described,land to show this relation twassretaineionxthestocking until after the board? have been designated by the numerals I0 and I2, used for the first sections, however, with superscrlpts added. l f

Each section'l2, I2' etc., is shown as commenced by one or more courses of self-locking loops or ravel proof loops (picot loops) I3, I3', etc., and at itsother end is terminated by a course of transfer loops'lt, Ii', etc., such courses 4 having the well known purpose of-permitting the introduction of the section into a. dat bed knitvting machine for the purpose-.of adding knitting thereto in continuation. of the strip. It will be understood, that in order to remove, the ravel- .oi sections I0, Ill', etc., it is only necessary at the desired stage of manufacture, to cut acrossa course or' courses ci the ravel-oif sections,to s

erate sized knitting machineso as to knit rather complicated patterns. For example, Figure l shows, by way of illustration, a hypothetical dealers name,Smith 8: 0o., knitted. into the section I2. Instead of a name, of course, patterns of various other types may be so knitted.

In the manufacture of hosiery according to my invention, each' strip, as shown in Figure 1, is separated, as Just described, by pulling out one of the courses, into portions each comprising a section I0 and I2, these sections remaining ing operation, for reasons 4that have-been disclosed in, my aforementioned patent, it is to bem understood that if desired, it maybe removed at any intermediate stage, where foimd desirable.

While I have herein disclosed illustrative embodiments of my invention and an illustrative manner of practicing the same, it will be obvious that the same may be embodied in many other forms rand. practiced in many other ways, as will be obvious .to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit thereof, and that I do not limit myself in relation to the scope of the disclosure herein other than as called for by the prior art.

Having thus described my inventionand lllustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 50

' 1. As an article of manufacture@ knitted strip comprising a plurality of sections, each of said sections adapted to serve as a single layer welt strip comprising a plurality of sections, each adapted to serve as a single-layer welt for a fullfashioned knitted stocking and each being terminated at one end by at least one course of picot loops and on the other side by at least one course of transfer loops, and a ravel-koif lsection between each pair of said first-mentioned sections, 

